# Things That Bother Me in Science Fiction Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 24, 2023, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001 "2023-10-24T08:55:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/101 "2023-10-26T23:43:20Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I blame it on the nifty looking ray gun designs that disdain such mundane features as sights. In **Beyond This Horizon** Heinlein got around sightless beam weapons by having the standard maneuver be chopping into your target with a hot beam. Every time I watched a red shirt on _Star Trek_ try to hip-shoot a threat, I wanted to yell “[Read a book, people!](https://youtu.be/D9QKxFkm-Ko?si=s7S9xubQanVlAXcN&t=155)” at the TV. IIRC, the hero of the book gets around such problems by being an antique freak who packs a .45 instead of a beamer. Boom. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/102 "2023-10-27T00:04:03Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > How do you learn to understand a language you lack the mouthparts to vocalize? There are people who, due to physical disability, are unable to speak, but that doesn’t make them unable to learn language. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/103 "2023-10-27T00:08:41Z")
As long as the sounds are within your range of hearing, and the phonemes come out slow enough for your brain to recognize them, you can understand anything. The ticker symbols on a stock market computer don’t correspond to anything a human can pronounce, but some people can read those easily. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/104 "2023-10-27T00:08:42Z")
Granted, but at least they’re learning a human language, as opposed to a click-based language spoken by giant walking cricket-people. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/105 "2023-10-27T00:09:57Z")
A click-base language? Like Morse Code? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/106 "2023-10-27T00:33:07Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Since superheroes were mentioned, I’ll add my favorite thing that bothers me: Spider-man’s webbing. It just doesn’t work, and can’t be made to work. How could he extrude it out at such pressure that it could travel a city block? And how does a gossamer thin line, presumably almost weightless, fly through turbulent cityscape air to stick to his target, which would probably be grimy? You’re not wrong, but, man, it feels wrong. I whisper this little prayer whenever something wonky gets in the way of my enjoyment. If you’re wondering how he eats and breathes/ and other science facts/ la-la-la Then repeat to yourself, “It’s just a show,”/ “I should really just relax” ---
**Author:** ![Hurrilon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@Hurrilon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hurrilon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/107 "2023-10-27T00:46:06Z")
## 2001, Gravity, The Martian, The Passenger, and others at least try to actually make use of the fact that they are set in space. I loved The Martian. One of the joys of the book was reading the actual science as he explained what he was going to do. I cracked up laughing when they reduced about 40 pages of book dialog down to one line: “I’m gonna have to science the shit out of this!” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/108 "2023-10-27T01:17:59Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Also, S-M’s wall climbing ability. It can’t be the hairs on his fingertips if he wears gloves. His feet also stick to walls through his boots. These things are unfanwankable. They’ve made a point of showing Peter Parker having to take off his regular shoes and socks if he wants to cling to a wall. His costume is made of a special fabric?? > [@Smapti](#): > > How do you learn to understand a language you lack the mouthparts to vocalize? In _Star Wars_ humans can learn to understand Wookie or even astromech droid. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/109 "2023-10-27T01:39:31Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It helps a lot that in comic book universes, there’s one field called “science” that covers everything from astrophysics to genetic engineering. [![](https://bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-06-000225.jpg) ](https://bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screenshot-2023-04-06-000225.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/110 "2023-10-27T08:14:48Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Granted, but at least they’re learning a human language, as opposed to a click-based language spoken by giant walking cricket-people. I dunno - perhaps the presence of human languages in South Africa that utilize clicks gives the people in South Africa a leg up in learning a click-based language of giant walking cricket-people? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/111 "2023-10-27T08:18:54Z")
Good point. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/112 "2023-10-27T12:05:18Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Heh, for a couple seconds I was thinking “who is this heroic badass from _ **Michigan** _ to whom AI128 refers?”. Then I realized you meant Mission Impossible 😏 It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s _ **Sooper Yooper!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/113 "2023-10-27T12:19:26Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > A click-base language? Like Morse Code? …and several actual African languages? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/114 "2023-10-27T12:50:20Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s _ **Sooper Yooper!** _ Welp, let’s get over yonder to da helicopter and I’ll get ‘er fired up so we can get the doggone heck outta town, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/115 "2023-10-27T13:09:39Z")
I wonder if the click people were ever recruited for code work in the war, like the Navajos. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/116 "2023-10-27T13:19:04Z")
> [@Hurrilon](#): > > I loved The Martian. One of the joys of the book was reading the actual science as he explained what he was going to do. I cracked up laughing when they reduced about 40 pages of book dialog down to one line: “I’m gonna have to science the shit out of this!” I loved it too, and I’m not even that much into hard sci Fi. I was listening to an interview with Neil Degrasse Tyson and he was asked what the most realistic science fiction film was. He said, “The Martian.” (I enjoyed both the book and the film.) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/117 "2023-10-27T13:23:39Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I wonder if the click people were ever recruited for code work in the war, like the Navajos. The military did try it out on an experimental basis, but things just didn’t click. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/118 "2023-10-27T18:05:42Z")
Speaking of “science”, one of the most memorable lines of dialog I’ve ever heard in a TV show was in _Fringe_ (which I’ve heard got really good later, but I gave up after half a season or so), in which, describing a variety of supernatural/parascientific happenings, a very serious government agent said “the events appear to be scientific in nature”. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/119 "2023-10-27T20:28:56Z")
my pet-peeve are “masks” … like **Ironman** , and all those guys … Have you ever worn an often metallic mask over your face and breath or sweat into it? … especially when running or doing the strenuous saving-the-planet thing? … smells god awfull, humidity dripping out of it and spoiling your costume … I get RudyG flashbacks whenever I see a superhero ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/120 "2023-10-27T20:38:47Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > Have you ever worn an often metallic mask over your face and breath or sweat into it? … especially when running or doing the strenuous saving-the-planet thing? … smells god awfull, humidity dripping out of it and spoiling your costume … Robert Heinlein, in his juvenile _Have Space Suit, Will Travel_has much to say about the realities of wearing a space suit, much of which applies to something like Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit. Although Stark is supposed to be a mechanical genius. He must know that those mascot costumes have fans inside them to give relief to the wearers. I’m sure he could (and hopefully did) engineer some higher-tech air circulation mechanism to keep the sweat off his face. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001.md?page=7)